The library was a cultural center for the community during the 1930s and 1940s.\u00a0 The Civic Club and the local Red Cross held their monthly meetings there.\u00a0 Other events were held in the building or on the lawn, including benefit bridge parties, Garden Club flower shows, glassware exhibitions, and afternoon teas for famous visitors, including New York Daily News writer Antoinette Donnelly and modern dance founder Ruth St. Denis.<\/p>\n
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The year 1946 was an important year in the library\u2019s history.\u00a0 Miss M. Elizabeth Wade, who had been at the helm of the library since its beginning in 1929, resigned.\u00a0 She was replaced by Mrs. Maude Lynch, one of the original trustees. Mrs. Lynch served as both librarian and trustee for the next ten years.\u00a0 When Mrs. Lynch died, she was replaced by Mrs. Mary Swain, who served until 1962.<\/p>\n
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1946 also marked the demise of the library\u2019s elm trees that had been on the property since colonial days.\u00a0 A major windstorm felled two of the six elms.\u00a0 Tree experts confirmed that the remaining trees were infected with Dutch elm disease and should be cut down. \u00a0\u00a0The removal was a tricky job due to the close proximity of the library building and the Smith house next door.\u00a0 It took five workers 631 hours of labor to do the job.\u00a0 \u00a0The elms were replaced with hardier maples.<\/p>\n
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The 1960s marked a decade of major changes at the library.\u00a0 It began with the announcement of a huge endowment from Clark Minor.\u00a0 Clark and his wife, Allice Archibald Minor, established a foundation to promote religious and cultural welfare in their hometowns.\u00a0 The foundation had three beneficiaries, one of which was the Deposit Free Library.\u00a0 The endowment fund provided $50,000 \u201cto ensure the maintenance and usefulness of the library for many more years to come\u201d.\u00a0 It stipulated that $1,000 be paid each year for 25 years.\u00a0 At the end of that time, the remaining $25,000 would be paid.<\/p>\n
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In 1961 Minor suggested it was time to consider an addition to the overcrowded library building.\u00a0 He offered to finance the construction.\u00a0 The Binghamton architectural firm of Conrad and Cummings drew up plans for an additional two rooms on the back of the building.\u00a0 One was designed as a new children\u2019s room, and the other was to provide storage space for reference and non-fiction volumes.\u00a0 Over fifty years later, the addition still houses the children\u2019s room.\u00a0 The \u201cstack room\u201d is now used for paperback fiction, non-fiction titles, young adult books, and the audio-visual collection.<\/p>\n
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The construction contract was awarded to local builder Alex Zaczek for $20,250.\u00a0 The contract was signed in May 1962, and the majority of the addition was completed by December of that year.\u00a0 Final touches were complete by March 1963. \u00a0Mrs. Adelaide Clearwater was librarian during this era.\u00a0 She oversaw the reorganization of the library into its new spaces.<\/p>\n
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Clark and Allice Minor attended the official dedication on June 18, 1963.\u00a0 It was the last time Clark spoke at the library before his death in 1967.\u00a0 Minor\u2019s passing was noted in the New York Times, where he was remembered for a lifetime of accomplishments in the international field.\u00a0 But in Deposit, he was remembered as a hometown boy who never forgot his roots and used his great success to benefit the community.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The library was a cultural center for the community during the 1930s and 1940s.\u00a0 The Civic Club and the local Red Cross held their monthly meetings there.\u00a0 Other events were held in the building or on the lawn, including benefit bridge parties, Garden Club flower shows, glassware exhibitions, and afternoon teas for famous visitors, including … <\/p>\n